Australian Story

This is the complex and controversial story of a man who killed two people, six years apart, both in mysterious circumstances. It begins with two country cops determined to solve the mystery of who hit and killed Dr Martin Pearson. On Anzac Day 2014, Dr Pearson was on the home stretch of a marathon 1500 kilometre, nine day ride when he was struck. Somewhere out there was the driver. Who was it? Why hadn’t they stopped? The silhouette of a suspect began to emerge, only to reveal a figure who had killed once before – incredibly, six years previously, almost to the day.

Concluding the two-part story of the man who was the only witness to two deaths. First, he shot dead his wife in what he told police was a tragic accident. He said he was looking for a snake in his garage on a chilly night in Toowoomba when his gun accidently discharged. Six years later he struck and killed a cyclist on a lonely stretch of highway. He was convicted of dangerous driving causing death. Now, a retired coroner, who has watched these cases unfold from the sidelines, is asking why the man has never had to face charges relating to the death of his wife.

When Marlion Pickett took to the field in the AFL Grand Final late last year, it set the scene for one of the most heartwarming moments in the sport’s history. For 28-year-old Pickett it was the culmination of a journey that began more than seven years ago when he was behind bars in WA's Wooroloo Prison Farm. Pickett credits partner Jessica Nannup and his four children for creating the incentive to turn his life around and follow his passion for footy. But the journey wasn't easy and Pickett was overlooked in successive AFL drafts. It wasn't until Richmond coach Damien Hardwick took a punt on him that his fortunes turned around. Now, as he gears up for the new season, all eyes are on what he will achieve next, both on and off the field.

There are very few Chinese journalists in Australia who openly criticise their government and even fewer working simultaneously on the comedy circuit. This might help explain the growing media profile of Chinese journalist Vicky Xu. When the 25-year-old arrived in Australia on a university gap year she thought of herself as loyal to her country’s government. But then everything changed. Her journalism is raising questions about the Chinese government’s human rights record and she now finds herself at the centre of an increasingly heated debate over the Australia-Chinese relationship.

Since appearing on Australian Idol in 2003, drag queen Courtney Act has gone on to become an international star, appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race in America, winning Celebrity Big Brother in the UK and coming second on Dancing with the Stars last year in Australia. But for much of Courtney's career there was a struggle going on between the glamorous drag queen and the man behind the make-up, Shane Jenek. The turning point came in 2014, when he was introduced to the concept of gender fluidity. Since then, Shane and Courtney have used reality TV, social media and performance to preach a message of acceptance and tolerance. In an intimate portrait, Jenek talks candidly — as both Shane and Courtney — about his career and identity issues.

Dassi Erlich and her two sisters were brought up in Melbourne’s insular Jewish Adass community where they say they were sexually assaulted by their former headmistress Malka Leifer. When the allegations surfaced, the mother of eight went to Israel where she has fought extradition for more than five years. We join Dassi, Nicole and Elly as they return to Israel to investigate why the case has stalled after more than 60 hearings and whether a senior Israeli cabinet minister pressured psychiatrists to declare Malka Leifer unfit for extradition. The sisters are also trying to harness the influence of the global Jewish community to crack what they say is a pervasive culture of cover-up.

As Australia faces an unprecedented pandemic, Australian Story tracks the experience of five Australians on five different days during the past week. A choirmaster, an intensivist, a medical researcher, a psychiatrist and a school principal discuss their responses in the wake of the crisis — and reveal some of the innovative solutions they're coming up with to find a way through. Produced over the course of a week, this is a unique insight into a week that changed the nation.

The touching friendship between jazz man James Morrison and his long-time mentor Don Burrows is the focus of this week’s encore program, following Burrows' death from Alzheimer's disease in a Sydney nursing home last month. When 16-year-old music student James met the legendary jazz maestro in 1978, it was one of the biggest turning points in his life. After hearing James play, Don immediately took the young trumpeter under his wing, becoming his mentor and inviting him to join the Burrows band It was the beginning of an enduring friendship, both on stage and off and as Don's health faded, James became his legal guardian and stepped up to help care for his friend. A tribute to the late Don Burrows, who died on March 12, 2020.

When Victor Steffensen saw horrific bushfires breaking out across large parts of Australia this summer, it was no surprise to him. The amount of vegetation on the landscape — and the type of vegetation — looked to him like a time bomb waiting to go off. He believes we can look to the past to prevent this happening in the future. As the face of the cultural burning movement, Victor says one of the answers may lie with the fire management techniques practiced by Indigenous people for thousands of years.

He may technically be a Kiwi, but actor Sam Neill has done some of his best work in Australia. From his 1979 breakthrough in My Brilliant Career, Sam has been a beloved presence on our screens. In 2019, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts celebrated his lifetime achievements with the Longford Lyell award. But Sam Neill has another brilliant career. For the last 30 years, he has been making wine in his beloved Central Otago in New Zealand’s South Island. What started as a delightful diversion gradually became an obsession. Now in COVID-19 isolation, Sam has taken to social media to entertain and reassure people. Whether he's acting, making wine or serenading us on his ukulele, Sam recognizes he’s simply in the "cheering-up business".

As the country burned through a black summer, one man stood out — NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons. As communities were being engulfed by fire, and amid political turmoil, Mr Fitzsimmons was reassuring, straight talking and honest. He became the “face of the fires” and to many, a national hero. For the first time Mr Fitzsimmons reveals the man behind his calm façade and how he overcame a childhood marred by domestic violence to become one of Australia’s most admired leaders.

When Tim Sharp was three, his mother Judy was told he had severe autism and should be put in an institution. Judy refused to write him off, believing he had a place in the world. Judy nurtured Tim’s gift for drawing and quirky eye for detail. At age 11, he created “Laser Beak Man”, an alter ego superhero character, whose adventures Tim turned into vibrant works of art. 25 years later, Laser Beak Man has taken Tim all over the world with international art exhibitions and a puppet stage show at the Sydney Opera House. Australian Story first met Tim Sharp when he was a schoolboy. Now, 16 years later, the next chapter in the epic tale of a mother who moved mountains for a son who had a gift that only she could see.

Rampaging Roy Slaven and HG Nelson have been making Australia laugh for the past 35 years. But as Australian Story found out, behind their brash alter egos, John Doyle and Greig Pickhaver lead much quieter lives. After meeting on the set of a children’s television show in 1985, they established an act that parodied the clichés of sporting commentary. Before long they had a weekly radio show on Triple J that ran for 22 years. Early in their career they branched into television, most famously at Channel Seven where their inimitable coverage of the 2000 Sydney Olympics brought them global attention. This year they returned to the ABC with a new weekly show, undeterred by the cancellation of sporting fixtures in the face of COVID-19. In an intimate and revealing Australian Story, Doyle and Pickhaver drop the masks, revealing how they were shaped by their childhoods, why they rarely socialise with one another and how their act has endured so long.

With concerts, stage shows and film and tv production cancelled due to COVID-19, Australian performers have found some novel, positive and hilarious ways to keep themselves working … and entertained during the pandemic. Well-known actors Lucy Durack, Wayne Hope, Robyn Butler and Eddie Perfect got together and created an isolation rom-com in 17 days. Country music star Beccy Cole and wife Libby O’Donovan have come up with a unique way to keep up live performances without breaching restrictions. And a story that has to be seen to be believed: the fake Russian choir "Dustyesky" from Mullumbimby has become a viral sensation in Russia during the pandemic.

Until COVID-19 struck, very few had ever spared a thought for the "forgotten flu" and the up to 15,000 Australians who died from the brutal pandemic that swept the globe during 1918-19. Despite the topic being memorialised extensively in the northern hemisphere, Australia’s experience of Spanish Flu was largely overlooked, perhaps because it was buried in the trauma of World War One which had just ended. Intrigued by the parallels with the current pandemic — the mask-wearing, the quarantining, the social isolation — Australian Story delved into the archives and sought out the country’s expert historians. For the first time on television, our producers have pulled together photos, video and oral testimonies to provide a unique insight into the time and discovered some remarkable stories of quiet courage and heroism from ordinary Australians.

Thirty years after wowing the world as a child prodigy guitarist, Nathan Cavaleri opens up about the challenges of life after fame. As a boy, Cavaleri, now 38, jammed with Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits, toured with BB King and did the rounds of the US talk show circuit. But by the time he was a teenager, Nathan was embarrassed by his stardom and in his twenties, battled anxiety attacks that left him unable to perform. But now he’s back on the stage and embracing his music … and his name.

Actor Joel Edgerton gives a candid account of the challenges he's faced on his long road to Hollywood success and how his family helped him stay true to himself.

Continuing the story of Joel Edgerton’s long and challenging rise to the top of the film industry. The award-winning actor opens up about the pressures of life in the spotlight including his “meltdown” after his breakthrough theatre performance in A Streetcar Named Desire. Edgerton explains how he manages his anxiety and finds purpose in his “selfish life” by being an ambassador for the Australian eye charity, The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Whether playing for the Storm, the Rabbitohs, Queensland or Australia, rugby league legend Greg Inglis was a force to be reckoned with. But off the field was a different story. For years Greg and those close to him struggled to make sense of his powerful mood swings. He was prescribed a range of medication for depression and anxiety and self-medicated with alcohol, leading to two stints in rehabilitation clinics. It was only after the second of these that he received a correct diagnosis for his condition — bipolar II. As Inglis prepares to resume his career in the UK, he speaks with extraordinary candour about his mental health to ensure others with the same condition don’t suffer in silence.

When the body of young American Scott Johnson was found at the bottom of a Sydney cliff in 1988, police quickly decided it was suicide. His brother Steve spent the next 30 years campaigning for justice. The multi-millionaire assembled his own crack team of investigators, including lawyers in Australia and the US, journalists, former police officers, and a former coroner. They called themselves “Team Scott” and were convinced Scott’s was a gay hate murder. Now after an unprecedented three coronial inquests into the case, a resolution may finally be at hand.

After nearly seven years in limbo on Manus Island, an audacious plan was hatched to get Kurdish refugee Behrouz Boochani to freedom in New Zealand.

Burnt-out former policeman Jamie Pultz is haunted by the suspicious death of Kirra McLoughlin six years ago. Kirra was a charismatic young mum he'd met on a domestic violence call-out and he doubted her death, a few months later, was due to natural causes. After he left the police, he joined forces with another young ex-cop Tom Daunt. Together, they launched their own podcast investigation into why no one had been charged over Kirra’s death. Neither of them would anticipate the dark paths they would go down or their startling discoveries.

Continuing the story of former policeman-turned-podcaster Jamie Pultz and his investigation into the suspicious death of Kirra McLoughlin. Kirra, 27, had been with her new partner for less than a year when she died and Jamie believed there was a lot about his story that didn't add up. When nobody was charged over the mother-of-four’s death, he joined forces with Kirra's mother to discover some surprising new leads. The wheels of justice finally started turning last month when a coronial inquest began.

For five generations, Charles Massy’s family rode on the sheep’s back and nearly destroyed their land in the process. When drought in the 80s and 90s almost sent him broke, the Cooma farmer switched to regenerative agriculture and watched his overgrazed land recover. In his mid-50s, Charles Massy started a PhD, visiting 80 top regenerative farmers to see what they were doing differently. That led to his ground-breaking book Call of the Reed Warbler, a plea to farmers to start working with nature.

The Aunty Jack Show burst onto our TV screens in the early 1970s, revolutionising Australian comedy with its surreal and outlandish sketches. One of its stars was Rory O’Donoghue, best known as Thin Arthur, who sang the show’s hit song Farewell Aunty Jack and dazzled audiences with his musical talent. A gifted composer and performer, he played the role of Peter in the hit musical Jesus Christ Superstar, worked alongside Aunty Jack creator Grahame Bond in a host of stage productions, and wrote the theme music for shows like Bush Tucker Man. Whilst hugely popular, behind the scenes Rory O’Donoghue lived with a crippling secret. Now family and close friends are ready to share his story in the hope of triggering a vital conversation.

In 2014 Di McDonald was recently divorced and dating was the last thing on her mind. But a chance encounter with a customer at the store where she worked changed her life. When she ended her brief relationship with Max Gardiner, he retaliated by embarking on a relentless three-year stalking campaign. This exclusive two-part investigation highlights the difficulties women face in having stalking cases taken seriously by police and explains in forensic detail how Max Gardiner managed to act unapprehended for so long.

Continuing the story of Di McDonald’s quest for justice after being stalked by ex-boyfriend Max Gardiner for three years. After police seemed powerless to stop Gardiner, Di’s case is finally handed to young detective Beck Norris. Detective Senior Constable Norris conducts a search on Gardiner’s house and finds evidence implicating him in an anonymous campaign of offensive posters targeting Di. But it’s not enough and to secure a conviction, the young detective enlists the help of the famous FBI profiler who helped crack the Unabomber case in the US. Can linguistic analysis finally prove that Max Gardiner is Di McDonald’s stalker?

Quaden Bayles is a nine-year-old boy with dwarfism who just wants to fit in. But he unwittingly found himself the target of a vicious social media pile-on when his mum Yarraka posted a video of him distraught after being bullied at school. The video went viral and there was a huge outpouring of support. But the haters also came out in force, accusing Quaden of being an adult who was scamming the public for financial gain. This is how Quaden triumphed over the trolls.

When she first appeared on Australian Story in 2014, singer Megan Washington was on a high, having released a successful album and gone public with her "shameful’ secret – a serious stutter. But in the years that followed, this multi-talented musician’s career stumbled as she tried and failed three times to make her next album. Instead Megan channelled her energy into facing her fears and did the previously unthinkable. She’s embraced her stutter and become a voice actor, including for the popular children’s show Bluey. And when COVID struck, Megan began making records again, this time on her own terms.

Five hundred kilometres from the nearest capital city, the outback mining town of Broken Hill is fighting to save its only newspaper. For over a hundred years, the Barrier Truth has told the town’s stories, documented wars, droughts and the Depression, and recorded the lives and deaths of its citizens. But when the pandemic struck, advertising revenue collapsed, forcing the newspaper to shut down. Former Broken Hill resident and mining executive Robert Williamson heard about the community’s distress and raised enough money to restart the printing presses temporarily. Now the newspaper’s union owners face a tough decision: should they sell their beloved paper to private interests?

Sixteen years after Australian Story first covered the case of the Claremont serial killer, the program returns with a forensic investigation of how police solved two murders and exclusive interviews with victims’ families. Three young women disappeared from the streets of Claremont during the mid-90s but, from the start, police struggled to crack the case. In 2004, Australian Story interviewed experts who suggested a full review of police evidence. That became a "turning point" in the investigation. By 2016, police had amassed enough forensic evidence to arrest Bradley Edwards who was found guilty of murdering Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon this year. There was not enough evidence to convict him over the death of Sarah Spiers. Sarah's father Don and Jane's mother Jenny speak for the first time since the verdict was delivered.

It was Christmas Day 2018 and father-of-two Mick O’Dowd was experiencing muscle pain in his glute. By Boxing Day, he was fighting for his life in intensive care. Mick was diagnosed with sepsis, a little known but life-threatening illness that occurs when the body’s response to an infection damages its own tissues and organs. To save his life, doctors were forced to amputate all of Mick’s limbs. This is the incredible story of determination and love in the face of an incomprehensible situation.

As the nation begins to emerge from the grips of COVID-19, Australian Story explores the Spanish Flu of a century ago and the eerie similarities to today. Until COVID-19 struck, very few had ever spared a thought for the "forgotten flu" and the up to 15,000 Australians who died from the brutal pandemic that swept the globe during 1918-19. Despite the topic being memorialised extensively in the northern hemisphere, Australia’s experience of Spanish Flu was largely overlooked, perhaps because it was buried in the trauma of World War One which had just ended. In this episode, Australian Story delves into the archives and hears from the country’s top expert historians to uncover just how this outbreak changed our society and what we can learn for the future.

Cradle of Life tells the story of 81-year-old inventor Professor John Grant-Thomson who designed a space age capsule to retrieve extremely premature babies from the bush. By chance he met one of his Neocot’s first patients, leading to a lifelong friendship. And we check in with the "fake Russian" choir known as Dustyesky that took the world by storm when they first featured on Australian Story in May. Now they’re working out how to deal with their newfound fame — there have been three movie offers and an invite to the Russian Embassy in Canberra — while still staying true to their values.